Republican candidate's ad falsely implies he has Donald Trump's support

Campaign advertisement from Javier Manjarres, candidate for Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Congressman Ted Deutch. The quote that looks as if it comes from President Donald Trump didn't come from the president. (Sun Sentinel)

A South Florida Republican congressional candidate falsely suggested he has support from President Donald Trump in an advertising mailer he sent to primary voters.

Javier Manjarres’ mailer to Republicans in the Broward-Palm Beach County 22nd Congressional District has a big picture of Trump wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat and giving a thumbs-up sign. In quotation marks next to the picture of Trump is the quote: “Javier embodies #MAGA.”

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It leaves the impression that Trump said those words about Manjarres. He didn’t.

Since he became a congressional candidate in April, Manjarres has directed dozens of praise-filled tweets toward Trump, but he’s never gotten back the supportive response he was seeking.

Manjarres took the alternative route of sending out the campaign mailer to voters suggesting he has presidential support.

A mailer from congressional candidate Javier Manjarres has come under scrutiny for its suggestion that he has the support of President Donald Trump, when in fact he doesn't, and for it's mention of "U.S. Air Force." He served for less than a year.

Manjarres said he wasn’t attempting to deceive anyone. “No, it’s not. It’s an endorsement from Matt Gaetz. It’s not an endorsement from the president.”

A careful reader who flips over the mailer and examines the other side might be able to figure that out.

A careful reading of the flip side of congressional candidate Javier Manjarres' campaign mailer shows that the partial quote that seems to come from President Donald Trump actually came from U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

In the middle of a list of five longer comments from several Republican elected officials is this quote from Gaetz, a congressman from the Panhandle: “Very few people supported President Trump as early on as Javier. Javier embodies #MAGA.” The second sentence of that statement is what’s placed in quotation marks next to Trump.

Manjarres said it is in “no way saying the president said this or insinuated that.” He said he didn’t want to clutter up the visual of Trump and the quote by adding Gaetz’s name to that side of the mailer.

“The quote was standing out as a big quote. We emphasized the quote and the president’s thumbs up. A visual. It’s not inferring that the president in any way endorsed us,” he said. “I don’t think it was misleading at all. The quote was on the back.”

Manjarres does have endorsements from some prominent Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi. He knows many Republicans owing to his years operating the conservative political website The Shark Tank.

Manjarres said the mailers were delivered during the week of July 23. He said he didn’t know how many were sent, but his campaign “probably” sent them to every Republican who requested a vote-by-mail ballot for the primary.

Above the quote and Trump thumbs-up image is a picture of Manjarres and bold type with these words: “American. Republican. God & Country. U.S. Air Force.”

In 1990, at age 17, Manjarres said, he enlisted. But he served less than a year. Manjarres said that’s because the service couldn’t fulfill its agreement for him to work as a flight nurse and allowed him to leave under honorable circumstances. He said he chose that option rather than spend the rest of his six-year enlistment in a different occupational category.

“I don’t say I was a veteran. I don’t say I served. I always had an affinity for the Air Force. I always wanted to go back. I never did,” Manjarres said. “I enlisted. I went through boot camp and training. Unfortunately they made a mistake.”